Calvin Synod Herald, 2009 (110. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2009-05-01 / 5-6. szám
8 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Continued from page 7 Generational Faith and Prayer that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed and the Lord hath given me my petition, which I asked of him: therefore I also have granted him to the Lord as long as he liveth he is granted to the Lord. ” Hannah’s gladness of heart found expression in a beautiful hymn of praise to God. Mary the mother of Jesus also had a heart that overflowed with praise and gratitude when she learned that she would bear the Son of God. Luke 1:46-55 tells us: “And Mary said, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden; for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him, from generation to generation. He hath shown strength with His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever. Mary’s hymn of praise commenced a life of both gladness and suffering as she remained with Jesus even at the foot of the cross. Lois the faithful grandmother transmitted the faith first to her daughter Eunice, and then Eunice to her son Timothy. The Apostle Paul confirms this for us in 2 Timothy 1:5 when he writes: “ ...when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. “ It is clear that faith and prayer are the hallmarks of mothers who, by their example, teach the faith to their children. As we recount the ways in which we love and appreciate our mothers this year, let us include in our gratitude the gift of faith, which the Holy Spirit gave to us first, through the example of Godly mothers. Rev. Ilona M. Komjáthy J Celebrating the 500th Anniversary of John Calvin’s Birth 1509-2009 V, r „ Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults ’’ John Calvin Hungarian Reformed Church Camp Counselor Retreat The Hungarian Reformed Church Youth Camp Counselor Retreat took place this year on March 20-22 at Penn Scenic View, located in the beautiful mountains of Pennsylvania. Twenty people attended to help plan for the upcoming July Youth Camp. Those in attendance were: Bishop Koloman Ludwig, Rev. Louis Medgyesi and also (in alphabetical order) Shane Clark, Gabe Csapó, Shana Drucker, Debbie Foil, Amber Frampton, Julie Fiirj, Ashley Gilleo, Frank Király, Maryann Medgyesi, Kristen Porter, Attila Póznán, Jody Ritch, Drew Smith, Kathy Smith, Kristina Sörfőzző, Les Török, Maria Török, and Barb Watkins. Friday evening was a flurry of activity: arrivals, hugs, food and more. The attendees were greeted with a table covered with tiles that read “For God so loved ...(their name)....that He gave...” and humorous pictures of themselves taped to a white piece of paper. The tiles were part of our first lesson. As we looked at the white tiles with our names written on them, we also noticed red spots and gold and silver slashes on the white background. The red spots signify the Blood of Christ while the white background signifies how we are seen by God when washed clean by Jesus’ Blood. Our Savior knows each one of us by name - hence our names on the tiles - and lastly the gold and silver slashes on the tiles remind us that the only works that will survive are ones done for Him. Each attendee was then given a black marker to write on their tile the things that God has given them that for which they are thankful. The picture pages were where each of us could write a little note to the one whose image was on the top. There were many funny and touching comments. Friday night bedtime sent the guys to the rooms on the second floor and the girls to the dormitory where more fellowship talk and encouragement amid giggles prevailed. Saturday morning started with a waffle and fresh fruit breakfast then we proceeded to begin the planning for Camp 2009. Our Saturday morning planning meeting lasted almost 2 hours with discussion on finances, activities and the camp theme. It was decided that this year’s theme would be “My Heart - Christ’s Home” based on a booklet by Robert Boyd Munger which uses the analogy of our hearts being a home with many rooms that need to be given over to the Lordship of Christ. Lunch followed and Saturday afternoon lent itself to some free time to explore the beautiful Penn Scenic property and also some great discussions and fellowship. Dinner arrived and this group is always ready to eat and then it was back to the main reason for the retreat: to draw us closer to our Lord. We completed two Bible studies - one on how to be a Scripture First Christian and the other was on a little known prophet in the Bible named Micaiah (son of Imlah) who was a great example of a person with unmovable character. We ended our teaching time with a discussion on the importance of being a Counselor using each letter as a word lesson: C- ommitment, O-bedient, U-nity, N-urturing, S-earches the Word, E- ever prayerful, L-evel-headed, O-penly accountable, R-eal. The discussion time was one of learning and soul searching
